HAMLET – The SilverArts of Richmond County 2018 event was held on Monday, April 23rd at the Cole Auditorium on the campus of Richmond Community College.
The doors opened at 4 p.m. with the entries in the categories of Heritage Arts, Visual Arts, and Literary Arts being judged and winners announced.
Guests were welcomed by Susan Sellers, chairperson of the SilverArts Committee. Other members are Denise Pittmean, Glenda Speight, Maria council, Millie Hailey, and Sarah Locklear.
Heritage Arts winners included Margaret Honeycutt, placing first in Basket Weaving for “Jean’s Bread Basket.” She also placed first in Machine-Stitched Quilting for “Appliqued Snowman,” Hand-Stitched Quilting for “Pinwheels,” and Knitting for “Gray Infinity Scarf.” Ms. Honeycutt received the second place award for “Basket of Promises” in Needlework.
Other winners in the Basket Weaving competition included Terry Mercer with a second place for Basket #2 and Lois Breyers received the third place award for “Small Basket.”
Robert Singletary won the Mixed Media Division with “All Aboard Seaboard Railroad” and Roslenda Rickards won the Needlework Division with “Religious Scene.”
The recipients of awards in the Visual Arts/Acrylics Division were first place winner Robert Radford for “Little Brown Church,” Rose McHugh for a second place award in Acrylics for “Seagull,” and third place for her “Red Cardinal #2.” In the Visual Arts/Oils Division, Cynthia Goodman won for her portrait of “Hamlet City Lake.”
In the Literary Arts Division, Mildred Dickson won for her essay “Character Counts,” which she read to the attendees.
Judges for this portion of the competition included Jimmy Reese, John Hutchinson, Susan Perkins, Jean Honeycutt, Wenonia Wall, and Jan Allen. Entries were judged for originality, color, eye appeal, function, proportion, and production/skill/workmanship. Mrs. Sellers thanked the judges and the participants for being part of this year’s competition and encouraged others to become part of the SilverArts of Richmond County next year.
A Heart Healthy Reception was sponsored by First Health Richmond Memorial Hospital. The menu included carrots and celery with ranch dressing, cheese and crackers, roasted chicken wings and sauces, pasta salad, spanakopita, grape salad, fruit punch, and bottled water. Following the tasty buffet, the numerous guests entered the auditorium where they were entertained by a variety of acts, from line dancing to singing to jumping rope and more.
Susan Sellers welcomed the audience, many that were friends and family of the performers, waiting backstage for their three minutes to impress the panel of judges. Fourteen acts performed for the excited crowd, as well as special performances by the Sandhills Shag Club and the Lake Tillery Shag Club.
Shirley Maddry opened the evening with a beautiful rendition of “The Lord’s Prayer,” She was followed by Four Ladies & a Gentleman, a group of line dancers from the Hamlet Senior Center. The crowd was in for a special treat from the third performer, Willi Morrison, also known as “The Jump Rope Guru.” He has been skipping rope for 30 years and utilized most areas of the stage while skipping to “Boogie Down.”
A special group of ladies that obviously enjoy line dancing and performing is Journey, whose members include Daisy Brown, Luvenia Williams, Elaine McLaurin, and Mary Baker. Due to a family matter, Mary was not able to be present for their act Tuesday night. But Journey hit the stage and were able to dance on, wearing sparkling gold and black outfits. This quartet of ladies also make up the group known as Southern Ladies, performing a little later in shimmering silver tops.
A vocal group known as the Cameronian Quartet, with Kenneth Lynch, Dan Allen, Michael Snead, and Tommy Criscoe, wowed the crowd with their version of “Daddy Sang Bass.” Two ladies known as the Wild Rose Dancers, each having years of experience in different types of belly dancing, combined their talents for the crowd at Cole Auditorium wearing an assortment of shiny gold chains and jewelry that enhanced their dancing.
Next on the program was a group known as the Delusional Divas. These performers have been practicing for “quite a while” at the Hamlet Senior Center. The group includes Terry Mercer, Wilma Duty. Vinnie Stroman. Cynthia Belton, Diane Deese, Pete Wheeler, Catherine Bethea, and Susan Sellers. Bedecked in flamboyant, colorful outfits and hats, and wearing padding to enhance their appearances, the ladies danced all over the large stage using walkers to the music cuts from “Little Old Lady from Pasadena,” “Pretty Woman,” “I Feel Like a Woman,” and “I’m Too Sexy.”
Well done, ladies!
The biggest act of the night -14 dancers – was the Silver Liners. This group performs all over the area for a variety of groups and organizations. Tonight they were dressed in crisp white shirts, blue jeans, and red bandanas, dancing the Cowboy Boogie to “A Good Time.”
Joe Ford, a world-renowned musician, performer and a member of the Richmond Community College faculty serving as a guest judge, entertained the audience with a lively version of “12th Street Rag.”
Other singers performing as solo acts included Connie Covington, singing “I Really Love the Lord.” Lee Watson, dressed in a black cowboy hat and boots, shared a sweet soulful song he wrote for his wife Ginger: “Two Part Harmony.” Beth Queen Ritter, a resident of Hamlet and a retired music educator, sang a beautiful song, “Not Too Far From Home.”
Diane Deese and Terry Mercer, on the program as D&T, danced in shiny gold tops to “This Little Light of Mine.” The final act in the lineup was Carol Nicholson, miming in a flowing white gown..
The final performance of the evening was by the 2017 Best of Show act, Southern Ladies, who went on to Raleigh to win the North Carolina Senior Games Performing Arts Silver Arts Follies.
As the evening drew to a close, it was difficult to predict the decision of the judges. All of the performers were called back to the stage as the winners were announced to the audience and the many participants. The Delusional Divas were chosen as 2018 Best of Show, and the ladies on stage hugged each other as they celebrated the win. In second place was the vocal group The Cameronian Quartet, and third place went to Willie Morrison.
Editor’s note: This article was contributed by Pam Simmons, the newest addition to our group of talented writers at the Richmond Observer.
